


Upon Our Travels

by absolutelyCancerous (cal1brations)



Series: Misfit Carnival (AU) [4]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Amputee, Carnival/Freakshow AU, First Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-02
Updated: 2012-10-02
Packaged: 2017-11-15 12:28:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/527317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cal1brations/pseuds/absolutelyCancerous
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“You think he’s cool?” He inquires, jerking his thumb to Sora. He earns nods all around, even from the little shit who decided to poke fun at Sora’s lack. “You should save up your money. We’re from the freakshow—we just got into town. Five cents gets you a good, <i>long</i> look, and there’s <i>way</i> more than just the two of us if you come take a look.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Upon Our Travels

**Author's Note:**

> [this babe](http://www.fahrenheat451.tumblr.com/tagged/The-Shitty-Nameless-Carnival) on Tumblr came up with the idea of a Carnival/Freakshow AU, I just decided to write some cuties for it.

They travel for the first time in weeks, and it’s a relief to everyone.

Not because they  _like_  moving—it’s a pain in the ass to load up the wagons, and even moreso when everyone has be crammed together for such long,  _boring_  periods of time—but because of the thought of somewhere new, somewhere people might not know them yet.

And first impressions are always an amusing thing, when you’re part of the carnival’s freakshow.

And, as per usual when they’ve parked in their place, when everyone’s just about finished doing their share of tent-pitching and show-setting up, they’re allowed the small opportunity to explore.

“Explore” isn’t the right word, though. It’s more like, “walk around town and get people interested in you—do tricks, be exciting, get the crowds lining up to see more.” And that’s not really a bad thing, because Sora hates being cooped up for too long and Riku, well, Riku just really likes spending time with the boy, especially when it’s not only late-night sneaking around between personal wagons.

So it’s only natural when Sora trots himself to Riku’s side, grinning like only the happiest kid in the entire goddamn world and asks if Riku’s going to go into town with him today. And, it’s only natural, it’s only  _second nature_ , when Riku nods stupidly with his own lopsided smile and they set off. Riku thinks it’s gross, the way his shoes makes the muddy ground squelch beneath his shoes, but Sora doesn’t seem to mind, solely because he enjoys being  _out_  much more than he does being  _in_ , and that’s pretty cute, in Riku’s book.

When they actually reach town, which is a  _good_  quarter-mile from where their “lodging” is actually set up, Sora is ridiculous. He’s so curious, so enthralled and enthused, that it makes Riku smile every time he looks at the brunette peeking around, observing the people go about their quiet lives.

“It’s such a small town!” He chirrups, stumbling a bit as he whips his head to get a full look around.

Riku smiles, stuffs his hands in his pockets so he doesn’t have to feel stupid about reaching for Sora’s, which _isn’t even there_.  “I think it’s just a little more concentrated than Brandenburg was, Sora.”

“Look at all the people, though!” Sora beams now, and Riku is curious as to what has him so happy. But, once he takes notice of the children approaching Sora, wide-eyes and slack-jawed, he understands entirely. He might not be the most social person around, but there’s something about being a traveling star, known almost world-wide, that makes Riku a little more social than he’d originally be.

“Where are your arms?”

Not even a full minute of staring before one of the four kids pipes up. It must be a new record, Riku thinks with a slight glare.

Sora, however, does not take offense. “I don’t need arms. I’m the Armless Wonder!”

“You look more like a cripple than a wonder.”

Riku tries very hard not to slam the child face-first into the pavement, and instead grits his teeth as he sinks down to his haunches, to be level with the group of kids.

“You think he’s cool?” He inquires, jerking his thumb to Sora. He earns nods all around, even from the little shit who decided to poke fun at Sora’s lack. “You should save up your money. We’re from the freakshow—we just got into town. Five cents gets you a  _good,_  long look, and there’s  _way_  more than just the two of us if you come take a look.”

One of the boys furrows his brow, pouts. “What do  _you_  do, then?”

Riku grins, waves the children closer so they press their heads together to look at his hand that rests in the center of their oddly-formed makeshift circle.

“I’m the  _Lightening Man_ ,” is what Riku whispers, snapping his fingers to produce a spark, a quick little burst of light that both amuses the children and frightens them. Sends them staggering back and away, looking at both Sora and Riku in awe before they scurry off, screaming at one another as they dart through the dirty streets.

Only then does Riku get up, sees Sora smiling at him so brilliantly it makes his heart stutter a bit in his chest; Sora has a very pretty smile, and surprisingly-nice teeth, to boot. He doesn’t even look upset, not really, and Riku can’t help but feel admiration for the brunette.

Still, he lowers his voice and his head as he mumbles a quiet, “You alright?”

And Sora nods, still smiling. “Sure am!” He probably thinks Riku doesn’t notice the blush slowly blossoming across his cheeks, but Riku pretends it’s not a big deal as he clears his throat and looks down at his shoes awkwardly. He’s never been good with dealing with feelings, nor felt this specific way about any boy, anyone in particular, actually.

Thankfully, Sora pipes up before Riku does anything stupid, nudging his foot against Riku’s before nodding his head across the street, to a quaint little antique shoppe.

“Let’s go there,” he suggests, and Riku complies instantly, crossing the street with a bit more caution than needed. There are more people out on the streets, now, and Riku can definitely tell they’re staring—more specifically, they are staring at Sora. He might not say anything, but Riku feels a little guilty; he doesn’t even like when people  _address_  him the wrong way, how would it feel to be in poor Sora’s shoes?

So, he shrugs out of his coat, and casually drapes it over Sora’s shoulders, doing the first button to make sure it won’t slip off. The action, making his hands tremble and his heart spastically thump in his breast, makes Sora turn damn-near violet in turn, beyond embarrassed with Riku’s kindness. No one has ever treated him as gentle and kind as he has, and Sora doesn’t really know why it embarrasses him so, or why it sends him into a silent, blushing fit.

“Thank you,” Sora chokes out timidly, tucking his head down as he steps inside, Riku actually hesitating to do so after him. What if Sora thinks he’s just doing this to help him reach things? (Which, okay, is totally one of the reasons Riku agreed to tag along, but there are other reasons, too! Like the fact Riku is complete and hopelessly enamored with him.)

But Riku steps inside anyway, smiling when he sees Sora has already found something to be enthralled in. Unfortunately, it’s something he cannot view on his own, because he lacks the limbs to take the book from its place on the shelf, and it’s a bit too crammed for him to even attempt using his feet for.

Feeling his heart leap into his throat, Riku steps up behind Sora and quietly asks, “Can I get that for you?” over his shoulder.

Sora blushes, shrugging his shoulders shyly as he bobs his head in a nod without slamming Riku in the face, thankfully. Riku does so, realizes it’s kind of a children’s book, based upon the aged cover illustration, but Sora just smiles.

He wraps his arms around Sora, to hold the book before the both of them as they thumb through it, not reading, so much as glancing at the pictures on yellowed pages. Sora’s smile never falls, though, and it makes Riku feel strange, maybe a bit at-home when he realizes how they probably look, like this. But, it doesn’t matter, it shouldn’t ever matter, as long as both parties are happy.

“You want this?” He asks, and Sora becomes flustered.

“Riku, no, you bought me something  _last_  time, and I don’t—“

Riku pulls away then, makes sure he’s quick enough to step away from Sora and dart over to the counter. The woman there smiles at him as he places the book before her, fishes out the desired sum of cash from the depth of his pocket and tells her to keep the rest of it as Sora comes trotting towards him with a displeased pout, as well as a brilliant pink to his cheeks.

Before he can protest, Riku just smiles, tucks the book under his arm as he bows obnoxiously, gesturing to Sora the way out. “After you,” he teases.

Sora’s face looks red enough to stop traffic as he steps outside once more, keeps his head down shyly. Riku promises himself he’ll make it up to him—perhaps he’ll give Sora the rest of his bag of candy from Leipzig when they get back to the big top.

.-._.-._.-.

Later that night, a good while after the sun has finished setting and the moon sits upon its heavenly perch high in the night sky, Riku sneaks his way into Sora’s wagon, the book from earlier in the afternoon tucked under his shirt. Sora is both surprised and delighted when Riku slips inside and quickly joins him on his bed, both simply smiling at each other until Riku’s brain can work well enough to remember what he’s doing.

“I, uh, forgot. To give you your book.” He offers it then, producing it from under his shirt with a lopsided smirk. Sora looks delighted, his cheeks once again a bit pink as he sighs happily.

“I forgot to thank you,” he says softly, rubbing his feet together that is strangely akin to one knotting their hands shyly. “For today. I had fun. W-with you.”

They are quiet after that, until Sora decides to sit himself between Riku’s legs and rest his back against Riku’s chest. Riku slouches against the pillows, bringing both arms in front of Sora’s chest, still holding the thin book.

“Will you read it?” Sora pipes up, and Riku literally chokes on his own spit.

He doesn’t like pussy-footing around, not with Sora, and with a small sigh of disinterest, Riku answers in a small voice, “I don’t… really know  _how_  to read, Sora.”

“ _Oh_.” He whispers, turning his head just a little bit, to let Riku know his attention is currently on him. Riku opens his mouth to speak, mostly to apologize, but Sora speaks up before he does, and he’s surprisingly not upset or anything.

“We can learn together,” he announces, but his voice is still quiet. The rich know how to read. The religious know how to read. The poor? The cripples? The freaks? They’re all illiterate, almost  **always** , and Riku is too painfully aware of this to say anything. He won’t crush Sora’s innocent hopes, and besides, Sora knows how to _write_. With his  _feet_ , no less; if that’s not a blessing, Riku honestly doesn’t know what is.

So, they don’t read. Sora merely drifts off against Riku’s chest, as Riku carefully cards through the brunette’s prominent spikes, hoping that this moment, this feeling of home and family here with Sora, will never fade away.


End file.
